Poems about grief

[GL friend]

Hello, I thought I would add one of my favourite poems.

The Window by Rumi

Your body is away from me
but there is a window open
from my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon
I keep sending news secretly.

For me this poem is about continuing to feel connected to my mum who passed away in 2014 at just 48 years of age. Even though she is gone, she knows how Im going and all that goes on in my life because of the window thats open between our hearts. She is well and safe now. I know this in my heart.

Topic

[VM-Serenity66]

WE THINGS OF FLESH AND BLOOD

We things of flesh and blood,
We creatures of the present time,
Mourning what is gone,
And quaking for what might be.
Tearing ourselves on nails of yearning,
Wishfully driven to hold the past in place.
Little by little learning,
To linger lightly in memory,
To hold in open hands the things we love,
Knowing we, as they, must pass.

[carly83]

WOW. !!! These poems really hit home. They have touched my heart. ♥️
I’m new here. I’ve just joined. I’m looking for a grief support group, online, and this is where I’ve been directed. Am I in the right place?

[VM-Moonlight]

Dear all,

These poems are so beautiful and helpful in communicating the depths of grief.

Thank you so much for sharing them. I also like this one by Chaplin Robert Orr from the Kindred Hospice:

“Grief is the last act of love we give to our loved one.
Where there is deep grief there is great love. Grief is a great rite of
passage, it is a hero’s journey of courage, of sacred battles, sorrow,
love, joy and loss.
Through the darkness of grief we can see the light of love which
transcends death. And with the pain can come gratitude for the gift of
time we had, the love that was shared and the power to become a
better person because they loved us.”

[VM-Apples23]

Hi @abner

I’m glad to hear that you have enjoyed the poems shared. There is a great power in poetry and storytelling. Please feel free to share some of your own grief and loss writings here in the forums. I’m sure it would be a lovely way to connect with others, like minded in their transformative grief journeys. There is so muc to learn from challenging times.

Thanks for your message,
Apples.

[abner]

Hello all, I love the poems, I relate to them all, especially the Rumi and the John Roedel ones. I’d like to write poetry and music about my own experience of grief and loss, as well as gains I’ve made in adversity, and I’ve made some of those too i.e. I’ve learnt to stand up for myself, and to own my emotions and my rights to them.

[VM-Serenity66]

@VM-Zelaris_20, that is a lovely poem. It speaks to me about the healing aspect of grieving, the stitching back together and accommodating what has changed form. It reminds me of Kintsugi (golden joinery), the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with conspicuous gold seams. The repairs become what you celebrate, rather than what you try to hide. May you all find comfort.

[VM-Zelaris_20]

Hi, Thanks for sharing these amazing poems. One poem that resonated with me is the following…

Separation by W.S. Merwin

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.

I interpreted this as my experience of loss is the colour that’s stitched in my life and my future. This experience is a part of me and accepting that has allowed me to grow but I know its always there and that’s okay.

[jamesrob]

Thanks for the information!

[harv]

Amazing poem, thank you for sharing.

[VM – OnAJourney]

Hi

Thank you for sharing those beautiful poems. One of my favourite poems on grief is by John O’Donohue from his book “To Bless the Space Between Us – A Book of Blessings”. I can relate very well to this overwhelm of different feelings and the often seemingly endless reappearance of grief in moments when I least expect it. May we have patience as our guide through this unsettling experience of grief.

For Grief

When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.

Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.

There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.

It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.

Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.

[Author]

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